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breaking news

Kiko Alonso is stepping into his role as a veteran leader. (Allen Eyestone/The Post)

DAVIE—Imagine being 20 years old and closing in on a lifelong dream of starting in the NFL. That’s where Dolphins rookie Raekwon McMillan was before tearing his ACL on his first play in last week’s game against Atlanta.

It’s a brutal game and a brutal lesson. McMillan was crushed by the injury, which will keep him out all season and require a difficult recovery, so veteran linebacker Kiko Alonso reached out to encourage him.

Beyond his role as one of the most established players in the locker room, Alonso was the perfect guy to console McMillan. He lost his second season to a torn ACL, suffering one while working out in the offseason, and suffered a partial tear in 2015.

“Obviously I’ve had two of them, so I just told him, ‘Man, keep your head up. You’re facing some adversity, but you’ve gotta just grind through it and you’ll be back better than ever,’” Alonso said. “Anybody that goes through an injury like that is always gonna be a little down. It’s tough. It challenges you mentally and physically. But he’ll be fine.”

McMillan, the team’s second-round pick this year, was set to join Alonso and Lawrence Timmons as the starting linebackers. He was expected to play middle, which would be an extraordinary responsibility for someone so young, and was doing well there during training camp.

Without him, the Dolphins seem to be moving forward with second-year linebacker Mike Hull in his place.